1. Field of the Invention
A dough preparing machine operable to gather ingredients so as to prepare dough and form the dough into individual loaves for baking.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Dough preparation is labor intensive and requires numerous steps. The steps for preparing dough for baking are relatively simple: gather the proper ingredients, mix the ingredients to a desired consistency, divide the mixed dough, round and mold the divided dough, and proof the dough. Current systems that mix or divide dough result in a lot of waste.
Automated batching devices are known. For instance, U.S. Pat. No. 3,794,234 to Pardo discloses a dough batching device having a funnel providing ingredients to a cavity, and a rotating member in the cavity operable to rotate within the cavity and deliver a predetermined amount of ingredients. Other batching devices such as the batching device set forth in U.S. Pat. No. 5,314,095 to Deal disclose a system for dispensing a predetermined amount of granular material based upon volume. Specifically, Deal teaches a batching device having a chamber of a predetermined volume rotated to accept granular material in one position and dump the contents of the chamber in another position. However, these devices are costly and are not easily adaptable to meter out varying ingredient amounts.
Dough mixers typically include a bowl and a mixer arm. The mixer arm may be lowered into the bowl and pivoted about the bowl so as to mix the dough ingredients together. Current dough mixers have the drive disposed above the bowl. The drive rotates an arm about a center point. However, in order to dump the contents of the bowl, the mixer arm needs to be removed and cleared from the bowl so that the bowl may be tipped and the contents dispensed freely. Other dough mixers move the bowl relative to a fixed mixer arm. Positioning the mixer arm free of the bowl for dumping operations is not desirable for mass production as this step reduces the efficiency of the dough production. Thus it is desirable to have a bread dough mixer or dough preparing machine wherein the delivery of mixed dough may be quickened relative to the current art.
Bread dough is currently divided and delivered for further processing using various devices such as a volumetric divider, a pneumatic divider where a predetermined amount of dough is squeeze out of a chamber, or a two-step method. With respect to the two-step method, in the first step the dough is compressed in a container and in the second step the dough is cut into individual loaves. This process involves the placement of the dough into the dividing container, pressing the dough, cutting the dough, and then removing the loaves from the dividing container so as to ready the individual loaves for proofing. Current automated dividing processes are done by having the blades come upwardly to press the dough against a platform. The divided dough then must be manually collected for further processing. The individual loaves are then separated and moved into a proofing station where each individual loaf is rounded and molded before being proofed and baked. Thus it is desirable to have a dividing process wherein the current steps can be reduced and automated so as to facilitate the production of bread, specifically the need to manually unload the dividing container.